At least I already mentioned the beginning of the school year since it happened in August. Now we have the whole month of September to revisit.
The very first day of September brought a great gift! The girls went to their second day of school while I drove down to Seattle to get my mommy!
We had such a wonderful visit with her! We played games and talked. She even bought them an ice cream from the ice cream man as he made his last ditch goodbye-summer efforts around the neighborhood.
On Friday, Mom and I went out to LaConner to do some window shopping and go out to lunch. We had fish and chips and my favorite, Fire Cracker Shrimp. We wish we had more of the shrimp!
We got home before the girls got out of school and then took a drive up to Fairhaven in Bellingham. My favorite stop. We had fish and chips there too at the Double Decker bus restaurant. We were taste testing to see who had the best.
Then we went for a little walk along the water before we just “had” to stop by this “one store” for some coffee syrup…but really I was trying to be sneaky to get to the airport to pick up my Dad. Dad’s working out of state and doesn’t get to see my mom much, so he decided to meet her up here for the weekend. Surprise!
On Saturday we decided to go out on a ferry ride to the San Juans. It was a beautiful day for the ride.
We played games along the journey…a big favorite was Farkel.
When we got to Friday Harbor we enjoyed yet another lunch of fish and chips. They were beer battered and mighty tasty. We walked around the quaint town and even saw a bunch of jelly fish off the pier.
We even got to have a little birthday party for me while my parents were in town. Mike made me an ice cream cake!
Then on Labor Day we had to send them home. It was a short but sweet visit and we can’t wait until they can come again!
On my real birthday I spent the morning by getting a huge apple fritter and coffee and sat in the sun to read a book. It was wonderful. That night the family took me out to dinner at Asian 1. Yumm!
This was right about when we got our summer. It had been a chilly wet season, but after the pool came down, the sun decided to come out. We had to make due with the sprinkler to get cool.
On Saturday the 10th, we got to attend the Blue Fox Drive in Oak Harbor for a Girl Scout camp in. We set up tents and got to watch a double feature of movies that night. Then we went to bed and got up to a tasty pancake breakfast. We had a blast! They even all got coins for the arcade and glow-in-the-dark tshirts.
Then there was Open House at school. Anika was first placed in a 1st/2nd grade split class, but after making an appointment to change it with the principal, he let us put her in a full 2nd grade class. She is much too bright to be with a teacher that has to split her attention between those two age groups. Now she is thriving. Tegan started out in a 5th/6th grade class, but they hired another teacher and now she is in a regular 5th grade class. Things seem to be going well for her now.
Kelby’s Open House wasn’t until later, but we got to meet all her teachers and find our way around the class. She got to march in a small parade at the beginning of the year. She loves band!
One day in there, Mike got to take the day off and he and his dad got to go fly fishing for salmon. We had bought the guided fishing trip on Groupon earlier in the year. They had a great time with an expert that taught them what to do. The whole boat of men each caught 5-6 fish. I guess they [the fish] are quite difficult to wrestle in. They[the guys] had a great time!
Then we had a nice day at the Pumpkin Pitch. They have a contest here where grown men build machines that huck pumpkins across a field. They are called trebuchets. Janicki (Mike’s work) had an entry in the contest this year.
This was the BIG weekend for me. All that hard training I’ve been doing all summer was about to pay off. We drove up to Bellingham that day to pick up my race packet. I got a map and we drove the course. The Bellingham Bay Half Marathon had arrived that Sunday morning.
Mike took me, but we left the girls at home. The weather was looking to be awful and didn’t figure they would be up for running around town as I raced through. The race started at 9:30 in the morning. And I was off…
Mike rode his bike around to get some pictures of me. The other ladies near me commented on my "entourage”. I ran and ran for a blustery 13.1 miles. It was only windy at least and not rainy. I finished in 2 hours and 17 minutes. That was under my goal of 2 hours and 20 minutes. I didn’t have to walk too much…up a long hill and to take drinks. Otherwise I ran the whole way.
I was so relieved when I was done. We just got a new restaurant in town, so I saved it until after the race so I would really deserve that Burger and Fries…from Five Guys. So we picked up lunch and went home.
However, the celebration was cut short as my guts didn’t agree with my running…even before I ate my burger. I was out of commission for the rest of the day!
But like after giving birth, I’m still willing to do it again. I signed up already to do it again next year!
Kelby has been doing Cross Country all September. They run four days a week and just had their first meet. It was a huge race with 11 schools competing. She does great. She has a really good attitude about practice and really knows how to hold her pace. She is behind as the girls first start up, but as the rest of them start walking, she passes them right up and comes in somewhere in the middle. We are so proud of her!
I have been volunteering with the team a couple times a week. They let me run with them! I love getting to know these kids and having them know me. Kelby doesn’t seem to mind having me around, so I’m happy for that. She has three more meets and then the season is done at the end of October.
On Friday, I had a little tea party with the girls after school. I just wanted to take a minute to slow down enough to just talk. We have been going a mile a minute. Now Anika wants to have a tea party everyday!
Well, that is about it for September…even though we are already well into October! We are doing great and I’m getting used to the school schedule. There isn’t a lot of down time, but I’m figuring out how to use the time I have well. I even got a mini-job! I will be working two days a week for 2 hours each day as a tutor for a special program at the middle school called AVID for students that want to aim for college. I am excited to work with middle schoolers and to have my first real job in a decade!
Hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the change in weather. We hope to go camping this weekend for one last hurrah!
